When Worlds Collide
by Opera Phantomes
Summary: When a rift between dimensions is opened, a young woman is thrust into another universe of which she knows well. However, the cause of the portal is unknown, so it is up to her, Zim, Dib, and team to find and stop the culprit before all heck breaks loose.
1. Reality

**Yes, I threw myself in as the main character, and there is nothing wrong with that. No, it is not a "OMGDESUKAWAIIROMANCE" story either. Read more than the first couple of chapters before making a judgment please.  
**

**

* * *

**

_Whaaaaaaaaaaa... What happened?_

She woke up and gazed blankly at the deep red sky. The sun was quickly setting to the right of her as she tried to grasp the current situation that remained too complex to really comprehend. Blinking a few times allowed her vision to jump back to normal, giving a much clearer view as to what was surrounding her. Large, flourishing trees stood tall and swayed in the gentle breeze, slowly dancing its way across the land. Crickets chirped in the bushes that overlooked her, mimicking an orchestra of a small size. In the distance, cars shooting past each other on a nearby street could be heard as one of them honked at another, more than likely to show displeasure of being at the rear of an incompetent driver. There was a nice, natural fragrance coming from the blades of grass next to her as a feint odor of human activity drifted in with the breeze every few minutes.

She regained her composure as she sat up lethargically; her head was in one hand and her stomach was in the other as a sharp pain ran through her body. Whatever had just occurred took the wind right out of her and the lingering after effects were only just beginning to soften and fade.

_This is ridiculous… Where am I?_

The landscape around her was not recognizable, although it seemed she had been there before. In fact, it seemed that everything in her peripheral view was extremely familiar, but the shock of the whole matter had not gone away entirely, clouding her mind enough to prevent it from putting the pieces together. She just ignored these feelings because all that was on her mind was how she would find her way back home from an area that appeared nothing like the place she last remembered being.

The bustling of cars could be heard louder as she stumbled through the natural setting into a suburban playground hoping someone could point her in the right direction. There were several people walking the sidewalks, some going home after a long day and others impatient to be a part of the nightlife. She tried to figure out to whom she would approach with her important questions, but no one seemed too interested in interacting with a short, young woman who was having trouble just standing on two feet.

_That person smells like they were bathing in rotting garbage, and THAT one appears as intelligent as a slice of bread… UGH! A finger up your nose? Is there no sense of dignity around here? Morons…_

As she gleamed and eyed the brigade of idiots parading around in public, she found that the pain had subsided and that she could walk normally again. Her stomach rumbled with hunger, but she knew she could not stop to grab something to eat; upon further observation she had realized her bag with her phone, wallet, and other items was nowhere to be found at the site where she had woken up in. If she was to even survive the night without any complications, a miracle would have to occur, and fast. She turned a corner as the lampposts and outside house lights sputtered on and continued to walk.

The sky was dark with the exception of the single dome of light being emitted by the cityscape in the near background. No sooner had she begun walking the block that she stopped in her tracks right outside a large, dark coloured house. The disturbing sensation that the house gave her sent a slight chill up and down her spine; the house, just like the natural area she concluded was a local park of some kind, was as familiar as the back of her hand, but she still could not put anything together correctly. Just then, two figures emerged from the darkness farther down the street as they grew more defined moving toward her. Whoever they were, she would need to ask them where she was no matter how stinky or stupid they may have seemed. She shouted out to them in desperation.

"Excuse me! I am in a dire situation and I need your he…."

The moment became very awkward and very tense really quickly. The two figures had halted their movement right in front of her, and she froze in an instant.

_I… I know them!_

In front of her stood a boy about her height, and a girl just slightly shorter than that. They both appeared younger than she did, though the height was hardly an indication of that. The boy wore large, thin rimmed glasses over his gray eyes, most noticeably with his larger-than-normal head size. His black hair was shaved on the back of his head, but was long on top and stuck out behind him. He wore a black trench coat over a deep blue shirt with a large, gray face on it. His boots were black and sleek, an odd wear for someone of his age.

The girl, however, had a glare that could pierce your heart in a moment's notice. Her hair was dyed a rich violet. She wore a black dress, gray undershirt, magenta leggings and black shoes. A large skull medallion hung from her neck in an intimidating fashion. In her hand was a hand-held video game console that read "Game Slave" on the lid, and her expression would lead anyone to believe annoying her while she played her game would cause you the most severe pain imaginable.

She continued to stare for a few more seconds before snapping out of her own little world; she now knew why everything seemed so familiar, and it sure would be a huge stretch to get anyone else to listen to her pleas and crazy claims. She turned and looked at the boy who was also looking back at her, knowing full well if anyone could assist her it would be him and his sister. She took a deep breath, sighed and locked eyes with the boy she recognized.

"I need your help."


	2. The Doom Revealed

**Weather related terms are present below. Yes, I can sound like that in real life; I am basically putting myself into this story without allowing my fantasies to be the dominate factor.**

* * *

The artificial lights outside seeped into the house through the living room window, mingling with the light from the overhead fixture and the strangely shaped lamp on the back table. The large television screen sat still and dark as though it had been waiting for the young boy to let the young woman into his house. The red couch was inviting the strange new guest to sit down, wanting to hear of the insane phenomenon she was about to reveal. The door shut gently as though to keep the silence around as to not interrupt anything the young woman was prepared to speak of.

"I'm Dib by the way!"

Dib had extended his hand in an anxious greeting to the young woman as she tried to remain calm; she knew what had happened to her was not something to be taken lightly and was fearful even Dib could not resolve the issue entirely. Hesitant, she shook his hand carefully before withdrawing her arm back to her side.

"And this is my sister, Gaz."

He was gesturing toward his sister whom had already made her way over to the couch to sit down and finish her game. She refused to acknowledge Dib's words for her own personal reasons. The young woman glanced over in Gaz's general direction, only to be sidetracked by her own uncomfortable thoughts.

"Look, I know who you both are, which is why I am pleading for your help Dib!"

Her attitude and choice words took Dib by surprise, but Gaz remained unfazed.

"You… know us? But… how?"

"I will explain that in full detail later, but right now I need to find out how to get myself back home. Please, hear me out!"

The young woman showed signs of cracking from the anxiety that was building up within her. Dib seemed to be more confused as ever as the young woman began to share her secrets with the siblings.

"My friends back home call me O.P.; short for Opera Phantomess. Right now I fear I may never hear them call me by that ever again…"

She sighed, and then continued on.

"I woke up this morning in my bed with the sense that something was not right, but I ignored it like an idiot and got myself ready for the day ahead. I live close to New York City, so I was planning on taking the train in and just walking around the heart of Manhattan for a little bit to clear my head from everything that was going on at home."

O.P. had taken a seat on the couch opposite to where Gaz was playing her game. She looked really into beating the current level, but was secretly honing in on the rambling going on next to her; it was sort of intriguing for a reason.

"I was on the train, and about half way along the route I began to extensively stare at the sky. Clouds were scattered about, but I noticed something off about the colour; it was the usual blue, but a touch of forest green was mixed in. Usually when that happens, a really powerful thunderstorm with a tornado somewhere embedded in it is too close for comfort, but there was no low pressure system near the Northeast. The feeling I had when I woke up came back, but I decided to push it in the back of my mind thinking that some sort of pollution outside or the dirt on the train window was distorting my vision.

"The train arrived at Penn Station on time, and I ventured out from the station into Herald Square almost immediately. After about a half an hour of walking uptown through Times Square, I found myself in Central Park.

"Whenever I go into the city I normally do not hit that area, so I decided to enjoy the remaining natural setting in a forest of steel and concrete for the first time in a while. Not too soon after the entrance to the park disappeared behind me, I heard the wildlife go berserk to the point where other park goers made their ways frantically back to the urban threshold."

Dib had sat in between Gaz and O.P. whom did not even notice. His eyes were fixated on her as she continued, but Gaz was not quite happy to have her brother sitting in her personal space.

"I, too, left the park and saw crowds of people completely stop what they were doing to look up at the sky. Some of them were awestruck, while others became uneasy. My gaze ended up focusing above me, and to my disbelief I saw what was certainly the aurora borealis gracing the area with its ominous presence."

"YOU SAW IT TOO?"

Gaz looked irritated as Dib jumped out of his seat in excitement and hit her on the shoulder.

"Just earlier at Skool we saw it happen! I _knew_ something was not right! They did not believe me! THEY DID NO…OW!"

Dib rubbed his head from the searing pain that Gaz had just inflicted by throwing her shoe in an attempt to shut him up. She growled, stood up, picked her shoe off of the floor, and put it back on. Dib remained standing as Gaz sat back down to listen to the remainder of O.P.'s story.

"The air began to feel heavy and soon I could not breathe so well. Before I could even comprehend what was occurring, I felt a sudden jolt of electricity running through my body. I became very dizzy and nauseous, and my body felt as though it was falling. Slowly I began to lose consciousness, and the next thing I can remember is waking up in that park just south of where we are at now.

"I finally realized what this place was when we were face to face outside..."

O.P. was really shaken up and it could be heard in her voice. She was on the verge of crying, but held it back. Tightly she squeezed Dib's arm without realizing she was even doing it. He was uncomfortable with it, but did not want to upset her anymore than she already was.

"Dib, you need to help me figure out what in hell happened and how I can get back home! As much as I would love to stick around, my home is not here and quite frankly, the stupidity this universe generates will only do me more harm than good."

Gaz had stopped playing her video game and put it in her pocket for safe keeping. She rose up slowly, and walked into the kitchen to grab something to eat. Dib on the other hand remained sitting and staring at O.P.

"Hey, um, you are sort of hurting me."

He was looking down at his arms in her grasp. O.P. let go immediately after her conscious became more in control of her actions, though she was still shaking like a cold puppy. Her gaze lowered even further to the floor in front of her as her hands grabbed the couch cushion like they had done Dib's arms.

"Wait, you said 'this universe'. What do you mean by that?"

His eyes lit up as O.P. choked on her words.

"To me, this universe is nothing more than an entertainment factor on a television screen. It sounds farfetched, but, it is true. My people see you as a figment of someone else's imagination created out of insanity, but developed into something more. It is obvious now that is not quite the case as I am really here and you are really in front of me. What I do not get, though, is why I am here. I mean, what caused that portal to open without intervention from an intelligent being? Unless they can open by themselves on a very rare occasion? UGH! I… I just want to lie down and sleep this all off. My mind is foggier than San Francisco on a bad day!"

Her stomach rumbled loudly as a few small tears escaped her closed eyelids. Dib was both excited and worried at the same time; what O.P. had just said made his inner scientist jump for joy. He stood up, noticing her tears and offering a hand to her.

"Of course I will help you! I would love to learn more about these portals and the existence of more universes. More _proof_ for me to show I am NOT crazy! First, I think you need to eat and clean yourself up before we do anything else. We will start tomorrow."

O.P. looked at him and smiled weakly. She allowed him to help her off the couch and escort her into the kitchen to fix something up to fill her stomach. However, that ill feeling that something bad was going to happen was back and making her stomach worse, but she pushed it away as much as possible in order to just look ahead to the next day.


End file.
